Stop the Dams
by brokenseraphim
Summary: Grow up, grow apart, and regret. The story of ANBU Squad Four and their journey to self-discovery. Friendship/Humor/Angst. OCs
1. Feel Good Inc

Some key points to this chapter:

+Tenzo is Yamato, for those who don't know. According to Kakashi, Tenzo was Yamato's original codename in ANBU

**Stop the Dams**

**Chapter One: Feel Good Inc.**

The voices seem to echo endlessly through long, brick strewn, blood stained caverns—they bounce off damp, moss-covered walls in a dangerous frenzy of chaos. It's a disaster, it is mayhem. The littered skulls are glaring, jeering with their wide jaws and their gaping, black eyes. Wanting and desiring…Darkness.

The voices won't leave me alone. They won't leave me alone. Echoing. Over and over and over and I don't know my right from my left. I can't tell if this darkness is here. Or if I'm dreaming. Or if my eyes are closed. Or if I'm living. Ifs.

_Look, there's a sword…_

_**Kill yourself**_

_Look, there's a boy…_

_**Kill him**_

_Look, there's a way out…_

_**Liar. **_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The courtyard was filled with the sound a gurgling throat and the obscene tell-tale splutter of lips and saliva as Kuroda Yameru spit the biggest loogie she had up to date.

The black-haired kunoichi stared despondently at the mass of liquid, slightly amused by the heap of bubbles gliding around the top. With a grunt, she stretched one leg from the bench she was sitting on and smacked it against the puddle of mucus's surface and began to rub it around with the toes of her sandals. It made a satisfying squelch.

"Classy."

She turned her head towards the origin of the sound, on the bench adjacent to hers, and let the groveling begin. Yameru squinted her eyes and pulled back her lips against her teeth, contorting her face into what seemed to be a mismatched crossover of a pout and a grimace. "Kaaaakashiiii," she whined.

"No. "The single syllable came out disinterested and sing-song.

The black haired ninja splattered herself against the surface of the bench, stomach against its wooden length. She brought her gloved hands together in a begging motion. Yameru whined again, voice reaching a dangerously pitchy squeal. "Kakashi! Please! Pretty please! "

"The level of attractiveness this 'please' holds doesn't matter, so—" The white haired man spared her a single glance with his one black eye before turning it back to his book. "No, Yameru. I'm afraid I'm not going to entertain you."

"But. But. But I—"

"No."

"But. But. But Kaka—"

"No."

"Ka—"

"No."

"You—"

"No."

Yameru let out a growl of frustration and surrendered, hands falling to her side, face slamming itself into the bench's surface. And to Kakashi's pleasure, she stayed that way for a few minutes, no sound, and no movement— kind of like she was dead. Subconsciously, he nodded to himself, he liked a dead Yameru.

The two sat in silence, the screeching of cicadas bounced off the trees and the walls of the surrounding buildings. They were in the park located right outside the Hokage's tower, waiting for a mission alert or basically, anything at all to take up their time. The park was empty and silence reigned through the soft humming of insects and the ruffling of leaves as the wind blew harshly.

In all honesty, Yameru was exhausted. Their squad, Squad 4, had just returned that morning from an A-rank mission and sleep was out of the question. Other than missions though, she didn't exactly have any other method to waste her endless time away. She lay on the splintered wooden surface of her favorite bench for a few minutes, watching dispassionately through shut eyes as the sun flickered red beyond her eyelids.

But soon enough, Yameru started up again, limp body suddenly going rigid as a board. Her hands abruptly shot forward in front of her and then came back to her shoulders in a rotating motion. Yameru breathed rhythmically. "Ha. Hoo. Ha. Hoo. Ha. Hoo. Ha. Hoo."

Kakashi snorted in a mix of amusement and disbelief as he realized what she was doing.

Practicing her breaststroke.

On a bench.

Kami-sama, she looked like some voyeuristic pervert attempting to rape a piece of innocent furniture in the middle of the courtyard.

Her loud, breathy pants went on for minutes before finally, to Kakashi's _immense_ gratitude, she stopped and face planted herself against the bench once more.

Yameru mumbled against the wood, drool starting to pool at her chin as her lips brushed against the brown surface. "Kagwasheee Iom shoo boooddddd."

"Yes." Kakashi replied in a sing-song voice, choosing to tease her. "I got that the first ten times you said so."

Yameru's head suddenly snapped up, and she crawled on to all fours, still giving him that pathetic groveling facial expression of hers. "I'm so boooooooreeeeddd!" She screamed it up to the sky, like a wolf in midday—or a really crazy chick on a bench.

She frowned when she got no reaction from her fellow comrade, a little irritated. Stumbling to her feet, she stood shakily on the bench before jumping on to his. Yameru tip-toed forward, somewhat happily noting Kakashi's body starting to tense up in anxiety as she came closer.

"Neh. Neh. Kakashi." She drawled out his name, a mischievous smile playing along her lips. "Let me read, too!"

The white-haired ninja tugged his book violently away as she made a mad grab for it. "No." He repeated for what seemed like the thousandth time that hour alone. After assuring himself that his precious novel was a good distance away and safe from her sticky hands, he calmly turned a page. "You're not even of legal age yet."

"Legal, schmegal!" Yameru frowned and crossed her arms across her chest indignantly. "Who cares about the law? Laws are for dickheads with no dicks."

Hatake Kakashi stared at her with his one black eye, looking a bit tired and overall amazed at her idiocy. Her IQ must have been astonishingly diminutive. "Yameru." He spoke like he was speaking to a five-year old child—slowly with just a touch of impatience. "You're an ANBU. That means you work for the law."

She blinked her grey eyes for a moment, eyelids closing and opening in deep thought. He knew she was working out some sort of retort in that messy, illogical head of hers. "Well, um. ANBU schmanbu…I'd rather be a King Boo."

He knew she was grinning like a maniac because she made a rhyme.

"Yameru." Kakashi turned yet another page, and shook his head, trying to rid the hints of her stupidity out of his poor, defiled mind.

She looked up brightly at him, that ridiculous, proud smile still tugging her lips one ear to the other. "Hm?"

"Shut up."

The fellow jounin puffed her cheeks in outrage and bared her teeth, dull canines revealing themselves. She let an indignant screech of fury out her lips before poking her finger in him. Yes, _in_ to him, not at him, _in _him. "You! Ha-ta-ke Ka-ka-shi!" She emphasized every syllable of his sorry name with a harsh jab into his masked cheek. "Ever since you turned 18 all you've been doing is reading that stupid pervy book of yours, you don't care about any of us anymore. You stupid pervert! Good-for-nothing sorry excuse for a captain! Traitor!"

With a deep, heavy sigh, Kakashi shifted the book to his left hand and brought his right to gingerly remove the intruding finger that was currently stabbing into his clothed face. Finally he turned to her, and gave her the longest, hardest, most serious look he could muster with one eye. "You're right I'm 18, and I'm horny. I'm sorry. It's not my fault this is good porn and I have to wait around here instead of in my own house so I can actually make some sperm bunnies or better yet, get laid. " He gave her a playful smile."And you know what Yameru?"

"What." She huffed.

"I'm 18. You're 16." He wagged his finger to and fro for emphasis. "I'm the squad captain. You're the under-subordinate. The least you could do is give me with some respect." Kakashi paused for a moment, his single eye dragging across the scenery in thought and finally finished. "And some space would be nice."

Yameru growled under her breath and proceeded to reinsert her fingertip into his cheek. "How dare you, Kakashi Hatake?" She started to tear up dramatically, her other unoccupied hand grabbed her forehead in her _agony, _fingers scraping across her scalp_._ Oh, the treachery! "How dare you and—and—and after all we've been through!" She sniffled loudly, the boogers in her nose making a disgusting squelching slurp. "I'm carrying your child and yet _this _is how you treat me? You horrible, atrocious man."

"What?" Kakashi freaked. "_Child_! What the-"

"Hatake Kakashi made me a baby momma!" Yameru screamed at the top of her lungs, voice echoing through the hopefully empty courtyard. "And now he won't take responsibility! I don't want to be sixteen and pregnant. It was on a dark, and stormy night when he suddenly jumped through my window and—"

There was a flutter of movement as Kakashi finally started to care enough and shoved his palm against her mouth. "What do you think you're doing? Yamer—ugh!"

"Blecheghch." Her tongue laid out limp against her bottom lip; dribble pouring down in a cascade of sticky DNA against her chin and _his _palm.

"Agh!" Kakashi let out a yelp of disgust as he wiped the excess saliva off his hand against the pockets of his green vest desperately.

Yameru eyed him innocently and jokingly fluttered her eyelashes while making cooing noises, spit still shining against her chin and down her neck.

He stared back, utterly, utterly bewildered and perturbed.

She whistled at him. "Hey, sexy." Her winking looked oddly a whole lot like blinking.

Hatake Kakashi was truly beaten down. He groaned, and rubbed his one eye irritably, hoping if he rubbed hard enough, she would suddenly disappear from his sight. He opened his eye. She was still there eyeing him mischievously like he was a hunk of spicy, grilled meat.

"Okay." He finally relented, dropping the aloofness. Kakashi ran one hand through his messy white hair. He suddenly felt exhausted, weary like he hadn't had any sleep for the past 24 hours…oh wait, he hadn't. "Now…what do you want?"

Yameru grinned toothily and she hungrily shifted her eyes to the book in his hand. She stretched out her arms and flexed her fingers in a greedy "gimme" motion. "Let me read!"

He sighed heavily. Deep inside, he really, honestly knew that this was the most appalling, immoral, moronic mistake he could ever make. "Fine." But he really, honestly couldn't help it.

Kakashi was about to hand her book, but she opted instead to crouch right next to him, and obscenely shove her head into the book clutched in his fingers. All he could see was a mass of black hair. "Yameru."

There was a gurgle.

"Yameru."

A long-winded sniffle.

"Kuroda Yameru."

A moan. A _frickin'_moan.

Unceremoniously, Kakashi used his other hand (which she earlier violated with her spittle), grabbed the back of her head and forcefully, and rather difficultly, dragged her face off of his precious book.

Oh god. Oh _god._ Oh what the—there was blood on his book. Flippin' B. L. O. O. D.

He turned his head, a little frightened at his younger squad member. Yameru had this oddly satisfied look on her face, a little dreamy, a little high, but what really caught Kakashi's attention was the stream of blood steadily dripping from her nose. It was a waterfall of crimson.

Kakashi didn't think he's seen her bleed so much since the one S-rank mission a year ago where they were ambushed by a herd of burly, gruff missing-nin. He face-palmed. And _he_ was supposed to be the pervert.

The jounin watched a bit disturbed as she let out a content sigh, a small utterly pleased smile playing off her lips as she shifted on the bench, facing forward. Yameru lurched backwards, becoming utterly limp, body bending to the shape of the bench. The blood was still pouring out.

x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx

The voices have stopped, and in their wake, they leave the ominous buzzing of silence that dig into the skull, that drill their way into my brain, into my ears, into my existence. That's all there is. Buzzing. Buzzing. Like flies swarming around a corpse…a corpse—am I dead?

_Why are you still living?_

_**Kill yourself.**_

_You need to stop._

_**You're not alive.**_

_Don't be afraid._

_**Death won't hurt.**_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

ANBU Black Ops is known as the most deadly force of organized ninja throughout the shinobi villages. They are handpicked individuals, chosen for their immense talent, skill, and ability to make intelligent decisions in do-or-die situations. Meeting an ANBU could mean certain death, it could mean your heart being clawed out of your chest, legs being ripped out of their sockets, and your brain splattering across concrete floor.

Indeed, the ANBU were a deadly force to be reckoned with—death, in human form.

"Kakashi. I'm a virgin."

Indeed, the ANBU, will scare you shitless.

"That's nice, Yameru."

"No." Yameru shook her head solemnly, arms crossed over the traditional green chuunin vest she wore, a deep overdramatic sigh racking through her body. "No, it's not Kakashi."

"Mhm." He ignored her and continued to idly flip through his Icha Icha novel, looking deliberately for the more raunchy scenes.

"Kakashi. Take my virginity."

"What the fu—" Kakashi dragged his eyes off the printed pages in an instant stare at his comrade in complete and utter shock. He gaped, confusion and bewilderment all balled up in his mind and made thinking logically the most difficult task. "What in the world, Yameru?"

Arms still folded, eyes still closed as if in meditation, Yameru turned to him. She pursed her lips tightly, and shook her head sadly. "I don't want to be a virgin."

"Well, yes." Kakashi gestured toward the crusted blood beneath her nose that scattered randomly on her lips and chin. "I received that message quite clearly."

The kunoichi opened her grey eyes slowly, looking at Kakashi with a somber I-am-so-frickin-wise-you-don't-even-know look. "You're good in bed, aren't you?"

Hatake Kakashi was speechless. His bottom lip flapped, not that she could see through his mask, but nonetheless, he was utterly, utterly, speechless. "Well." Kakashi was stuttering. _Hatake Kakashi_ was stuttering. Talking to his kohai about his skills in the sack wasn't exactly on his list of things-to-do today. "I-I suppose. I am."

"Exactly." She brought one hand to rub at her chin, almost as if she had a goatee. "I trust you, dear friend. I trust you with my…" Yameru suddenly leapt up and off the bench, landing sturdily on two feet, hands thrown up in the air in Banzai mode. "VIRGINITY!" She screeched and again, Kakashi was left utterly, utterly, speechless.

"Um. Excuse me?"

The two jounin snapped their heads to look up at the newcomer.

"Oh? Who is this?" Yameru took a few steps forward to the stranger, surveying openly as she circled him like a seme to his uke.

The boy looked roughly 14 years old. His deep brown hair stood on random ends and his face was defined by a straight nose, and set, square jaw. What really hit the two jounin though, were his deep black eyes that were—

"Freaky! HolyKage's man-thong!" Yameru pointed a finger in him, yes, _in _him. "Your eyes scream, 'Freak,' you freak!" After making her dramatic statement, she removed her finger from between his eyes and quickly retreated back to the bench and huddled next to Kakashi.

"Ok, Kakashi," she whispered. "I'll take the right, you take the left, and let's take care of this freak." Yameru rose and pointed her fingers out like kunai. "Hiyah," she muttered.

Hatake Kakashi took a glance to her, his book, then to the boy, then back to his book. "Yameru, leave the boy alone."

"No!" She grabbed the 18 year old man by his shoulders and shook him fiercely. Yameru yelled obnoxiously loud, and slurred her words in mock anxiety. "No, Kakashi, you're letting the Freak freak you out with his freaky eyes. Don't fall into his freaky genjutsu or you'll become a freak too!"

Yameru then proceeded to slap him. And then backhanded him. And then poked his visible eye.

"No," she wailed. "No, no, no, no! Kakashi!" She was suddenly hugging him, cuddling his abused skull into her shoulder and she was sobbing. Loudly. "No, Kakashi! Don't turn into a freak, you can't! I won't let you. No. No. No. No." She sniffled then wiped her snot against his forehead protector.

Hatake had the urge to kill a baby.

"Excuse me." The boy started again. He was extremely disturbed by the scene in front of him, but chose to brush it off and pretend he saw nothing. Keeping sane was easier that way. "I'm looking for Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi muttered under his breath, shut his book in one hand, and pushed the ridiculous girl off of him with the other (with a bit more force than necessary). He could feel his sanity attempting to slither out his ear to escape towards salvation. "Yes?"

The brunette saluted, one hand coming stiffly to his forehead, accenting his…freaky eyes. "Sir. I am codename Tenzo, I was assigned by the Hokage-sama to serve under your squad for the time being."

There was some scuffling on the floor before Yameru popped up from underneath the bench where Kakashi had roughly shoved her. "Eh? Eh? Eh? Eh? Serve? Squad? Time?"

She crawled across the dirt floor towards a disturbed Tenzo. "So you're the new kid, huh?" She rounded him on all fours, sniffing. She head butted his knee and suddenly jumped to her feet in a split second, startling the brunette.

Yameru eyed him one more time before strutting back to the bench to sit next to Kakashi…looking oddly civilized all of a sudden. "Hmph. That damn old man." She growled, glaring at the fourteen year old boy. "Sending us useless brats, what a waste of my fucking time. Listen up, kid!"

Tenzo stiffened, startled by her sudden change of demeanor. "Yes, ma'am!"

"ANBU is no fucking playground so I'll warn you now." She crossed one leg over the other, and tilted her head back, mouth curling cruelly in a malevolent sneer . "Get in our damn way and I'll rip your sorry balls off, got it?"

Before Tenzo could coherently think of a response, Yameru slid to her feet, looking relatively intimidating, considering she still had crusted blood underneath her nose and dried spittle on the curve of her chin. "See you, Kakashi." And with that, the black haired kunoichi left, leaving a rather stunned and incredibly confused 14 year old in her wake.

Tenzo blinked multiple times, attempting to organize the series of odd, hectic events of the past few seconds in his pre-pubescent head. All he could manage was to stutter out a befuddled, "What the?"

"Don't worry about her."

Tenzo turned his attention back to the older man, Kakashi, who was still looking visibly abused. His mask was askew, bunched up in folds across his cheeks, his headband lay haphazardly across his face from being tugged too often, and his hair had noticeably crusty chunks from what seemed to be yellow-green phlegm.

"Sir?" The brunette squinted his eyes, showing he didn't fully comprehend.

Kakashi groaned and stood up. He brushed himself off, adjusted his forehead protector, and offered a not-so-reassuring smile before stuffing his nose back in his Icha Icha novel. "It's an ANBU thing."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I don't know how long I've been walking, but my legs hurt, the pain, it's embedded into my bones, down to the very marrow that oozes out my crimson blood. I keep walking, but this tunnel doesn't end, it stretches out into the blatantly unknown, boasting and squealing, screeching.

_There's nowhere to go._

_**This is the end of you. **_

I think I'm lost. I think…can I think? Am I truly thinking right now, do I truly exist? Questions with no answers, they sprint through the recesses of a messy psyche, taunting their endless vigor, and smudging their filth against cracked windows. They blur the conscience.

_You're filthy._

_**You can't be clean.**_

_There's no hope for you._

_**So, just die.**_

x-x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"So there's a new kid, huh?"

Yameru nodded before taking off her sandals and tangling her toes in the overgrown grass. "Kid called himself Tenzo. He's pretty cute."

"Yameru."

She looked up at the voice from her sitting position. It belonged to none other than fellow Squad 4 member Mizushima Takeshi, their personal genjutsu specialist and gossip queen…or king, rather. "Yes, Boss?"

Takeshi rolled his eyes at the girl's nickname for him, and plopped himself down next to her on the grassy hill. He slipped off his own sandals and stretched his long legs out with a content moan. Finally, he turned his head towards her and said frankly, lips quirking up slightly in an arrogant smirk. "Don't be a pedophile."

"Hey!" Yameru punched him on his thigh, disturbingly close to his goods. "Boss he can't be that much younger than me, maybe two—three years at best!"

"Mhm, sweetie." Takeshi dug through his pockets and pulled out a box of cigarettes, that damned smirk still taunting along the creases of his mouth. "That's what all the raving child molesters say."

The black-haired kunoichi growled and punched his thigh one more time, before plopping herself fully against the grassy hill in exasperation. "Well, at least I'm not a drag queen," she mumbled under her breath scornfully.

Takeshi snapped his head towards her, freshly lit cigarette spewing out smoke as it flopped limply on the corner of his lips. "_That_ Kuroda Yameru, was for a damn mission! I am not a drag queen!" The dirty blond turned his head back towards the creek in front of them, mumbling incoherent nothings. "God damn, I knew you guys would never let me live it down. Stupid old man!"

He shuddered as he remembered the infiltration mission. They had to capture a Kamenashi Ryo, 55 years of age, and a drug smuggler that had been hooking up young adolescents on some narcotics. The old geezer had a thing for young, cute men in mini-skirts and fishnets.

"Tch." Takeshi inhaled deeply on his tobacco stick. "Not my fault I'm so damn attractive."

There was a snicker to his left side. "No, just too pretty."

Mizushima was about to smack her a good one, but she rolled away. Yes, _rolled_ away.

Yameru rolled herself a good ten feet, grabbed a dandelion there, and then rolled herself back to his side. In turn, Takeshi rolled his own brown eyes. After spending the last few years in her squad, he was accustomed to her random, often stupid, spontaneity.

She groaned, deep and whiny. One palm came up to clutch at her skull, while the other still cradled the captured dandelion in its fingers.

Takeshi spared her a glance."What?"

"Dizzy." Yameru squeezed her eyes shut, eyebrows furrowing.

"Idiot." The illusionist rolled his eyes, and snarkily remarked. "That's what you get for rolling down a damn hill."

"Oh." The crease began to disappear from between her eyebrows as she started to calm down. "That's true."

After another minute, she finally opened her eyes. The bright, heavy sun winked back. Yameru frowned and wiggled the crumpled dandelion in front of her; it hadn't survived the roll back. Her head hurt too-this sucked huge, hairy, crab-infested balls. She hated head-aches.

Takeshi poked her, and placed his palm on her forehead, almost looking genuinely concerned, but overall, awkward. "Did you take your pills yet?"

The girl gave him a smile and threw the dandelion off into a random mass of green. "Hehe. Boss, don't tell me you're falling for me now?" Her oh-so-innocent smile turned into a devious smirk, and she whispered out the last few words tauntingly. "Boss, you peeedoooo."

"Oh, shut up, you idiot." He flicked her forehead, and grumpily blew smoke in her face. "Fuck, and here I was trying to be a mature adult. Should've known not to care for your ass."

She laughed and poked his cheek from her laying position. "Aw ish da pweetty lil' boy bwussshiingg?" Yameru rolled up into fetal position, back still against the grass, but arms and legs coming to curl towards her chest. She looked like a beetle pushed onto its back. "Weeeeh, weeeh! I'm a baby! Nooo, momma don't let me be with Uncle Takeshi, he touches me in inappropriate places, weeeeehhhh!"

He glared at her, dark brown eyes narrowing in annoyance at her immaturity and knack for trolling.

In return, Yameru chuckled breathlessly, too immersed in her own joke. Damn, her ribs hurt. "Okay, okay. I took my medicine so cool your horses, Boss."

"Hmph." Takeshi let out an incensed pout that came off more as a scowl on his twenty year old face.

The two ANBU members sat in silence for a while, just feeling the wind against their skin and listening to the soft trickle of water sliding down the creek. It was a strange bubbling mixed with a soft whisper of liquid gliding across smooth, stony surfaces.

The blond was the first to shatter the silence. "Where's the captain?" Takeshi blew one last puff of smoke before roughly stabbing the cigarette into the grassy surface.

Yameru shrugged, her fingers were preoccupied with chasing a random ladybug that had crawled onto her arm. She smiled at how it skittered helplessly across the expanse of skin. "Who knows? Most likely, Kakashi's with the new kid, Tenzo."

"Agh." Takeshi groaned, chest rumbling, and allowed his body to fall back onto the grass next to her. They stared up at the horribly light blue sky, void of any clouds. "The new kid, huh? What's he like?"

He felt Yameru shudder next to him and barely heard her whisper out, "Freaky."

The genjutsu specialist snorted."Freaky, how so?"

"The eyes." The girl let her arm drop, ignoring the tickling of the lady bug's legs at it anxiously crawled off her skin and back onto the grassy haven. "It's definitely the eyes."

"Oh?" Takeshi let his eyes flutter shut and contently let sleep start to pull him away. "Really now."

"Boss! You don't even _know_." There was a ruffle of clothing and grass as she sat up abruptly, irritated that he didn't believe her.

"Mhm." He hummed, not particularly interested in the current subject. Takeshi didn't particularly enjoy talking about other men.

"Booossss." Takeshi could pretty much _see_ the overdramatic pout without looking at her. "He's freaky, I tell you_, fur-eak-eee_!"

"Right." He yawned, eyes starting to tear up. "Did you give him the treatment?"

Her pout finally disappeared and she gave him a devilish grin. "Psh, Boss, _of course_ I did."

"Bitchy?"

"Yup."

"I'm going to rip your balls, bitchy? Or I'm a hoe who got your bro, bitchy?"

"Rip your balls, bitchy."

Takeshi returned the devilish grin. "Good choice."

Hehe, I only learn from the best, Boss." There was a gurgle and the tell-tale splutter of lips as Yameru shot her second loogie that day. "Mn. Thought of the initiation test for the newbie yet, Boss?"

"Yeah," Takeshi hummed contently. "I'm thinking something with sausages." He paused for a moment, letting the dramatic effect sink in to her anticipating ears.

"And no clothes."

x—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

_I see you._

_**You can't escape.**_

_You have to die._

_**To be free.**_

The voices were back and the tunnel is as long as ever.

x-x-x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Whoa. Weird Chapter.

Thanks for reading and remember to review :D Any kind of feedback and helpful criticism is welcome!

Review Requirement p/c: 5


	2. Gives You Hell

**Chapter 2: Gives You Hell**

Tenzo scanned the fleeting backs before him, all covered in the standard thick, grey padding of the ANBU uniform. A single, quick glance from the black-haired ninja to the blond and to white-haired one, and he found himself sighing into his red-marked, porcelain mask.

Indeed, this definitely wasn't going to work out for him.

Tenzo, at the grand age of fourteen, managed to crawl his way up to ANBU status and it was no easy feat. Barely even a teenager, he had murdered hundreds of other shinobi, and sometimes even innocents. He'd seen the skeletal, horrifyingly translucent line separating life and death and dragged his way back on hands and knees. The black-eyed boy had been through so much and now…this.

Since he's been assigned his squad, Tenzo couldn't possibly count the number of times he reflected on his life, whispering darkly to himself, "What did I do to deserve this?"

Hatake Kakashi, the captain, had been the kindest. He gave Tenzo the basic instructions, helped him through some default procedures concerning paperwork and kept him informed about missions. The entire time though, his masked face was jammed inches deep in that blasted book. Tenzo had a feeling the older man wasn't as concerned as he put out to be.

Nevertheless, that was better than what he could say about the other two.

Mizushima Takeshi, the eldest of the group and their support force, seemed to do anything but support. The moment they met, Takeshi had looked him up and down with his brown eyes like he was a piece of marbled, fresh beef and simply said, "Eh," before turning around and walking out the Hokage's office. The second time they met, to head out for the mission, they all had been wearing their ANBU uniforms and masks. Tenzo happened to be assigned "Cat" and Takeshi, who was "Raccoon," gave him a lop-sided smirk and sneered. "Pussy."

It would be a wretched understatement to say Tenzo was irritated. The sad thing though, was that Takeshi wasn't the worst.

Kuroda Yameru was only two years his senior yet she insisted on acting like his complete and utter superior. The sixteen-year-old ANBU unit had a deep fixation with whispering threats down his ear about different ways to torture him via the removal of his testicles. Tenzo remembered the way she introduced herself to him in the most vividly horrifying manner. "The name's Kuroda Yameru and you'd be sure to remember, bitch, that I am better than you in every. Single. Way."

Tenzo never had the urge to hit a girl so badly.

The boy let out a mix of a sigh and a groan. His feet seemed to be moving on their own, kicking themselves against the tree trunks lifelessly because he really couldn't find a possible way to put his heart into this mission. Not with-

"Hey, brat!"

Tenzo groaned again, speak of the devil. "Yes, Yameru-senpai?"

He could tell, he swore he could tell, even with that Coyote Mask covering her face, that she was grinning ear-to-ear. "What's wrong," she shouted back at him, voice laced with malice in a ridiculous sing-song tone. "Balls finally drop?"

"No, Yameru-senpai." Tenzo forced himself to grit out every syllable slowly and calmly. "My balls are quite fine. Thank you for the concern."

The Coyote-masked ANBU cackled, head thrown up shamelessly in mirth. "Then hurry the fuck up, you little dickweed!"

Tenzo growled under his breath. His sadistic side really, really wanted to see her get smacked by one of the tree branches…and then clawed to death by a pack of mutated, colossal squirrels. "Yes, senpai." But instead, he conceded, teeth biting into his lips dangerously in anger, and quickened his pace to keep up with the three older members.

The Hokage has assigned them a Rank A mission two days prior concerning a rumor of Amegakure shinobi harassing a border village. After massacring their squadron, the rain-nin defected from the Amagakure government and had planted themselves as town chiefs.

Already drowning in the crimson downpour of their civil war, Amegakure neither possessed the manpower nor the time to punish their disloyal trash. Which left Konoha and Squad Four to eliminate the nuisance.

"Alright." Kakashi suddenly halted in front of a small, open grove in the middle of the forest. "We'll stop and rest here for tonight."

"Now, now, Kakashi-chan, if we're going to rest, shouldn't we do it oh…" Takeshi ripped his Badger mask off to roll his eyes. "I don't know, somewhere where we won't be vulnerable to bombs and bird shit?"

Kakashi took off his own Dog Mask, and in a matter-of-fact way, stated, "Takeshi-kun, we will be." The white haired man turned to Tenzo. "Show them what you can do, new kid."

There was a scornful snort of disbelief to the right. Yameru strutted forward, hands on her hips, and glared at Tenzo. He hated how she was taller than him. "What can this kid do? His balls are probably still curled up tight against his tiny dick."

The captain ignored the both of his older team members, and nodded to the brunette. "Well?"

"Yes, Kakashi-senpai." Tenzo brought his arms up to chest level, fingers moving in a flurry of quick, complicated hand seals. He wanted to show them he wasn't some brat who just crawled out of his mother's weeping womb. "Wood Release: Four Pillars House Technique!"

A deep rumble shook the Earth and the ground began to quake against their sandal-clad feet. Birds screeched somewhere nearby, a deafening pitch, and finally the ground split open, and huge, gargantuan stocks of wood clawed their way out into the frightened night sky. The ANBU hastily brought their arms up to protect their faces as a fountain of rocks and splinters rocketed themselves out from the ripped Earth and leapt at their bodies. A moment of deathly silence trickled by before they allowed their arms to drop and discovered a wide, trimmed wooden two-story house taunting them under the dim moonlight.

A pat on his shoulder startled the brunette out of his satisfied reverie. "Good job, Tenzo." With that Kakashi simply strolled his way into the two-story, make-shift shelter, already tugging his signature_ Icha Icha_ novel out of its pouch.

Feeling pride start to immaturely surge through his chest, Tenzo turned to his other two squad members, spitefully wondering what their reaction to his skill was.

Mizushima let out a laid-back whistle, eyes appreciating the house's height and aesthetic. Yameru was—was she smiling? The female ANBU had this bright, wide grin on her face. It wasn't like the other ones she gave him that were mocking and arrogant, this one actually seemed genuine.

Tenzo didn't realize he was staring until he saw Takeshi poke Yameru on the shoulder and bluntly point in his direction. She followed Takeshi's gesturing finger and the moment the two made eye contact, the smile vanished only to be replaced with a scowl. She wrinkled her nose at him before strutting in through the large doors without a single word.

The brunette frowned, brows furrowing in honest confusion. Takeshi caught his inquiring look and the blond man merely smirked, shrugged his shoulders lazily and sauntered inside.

Tenzo didn't get it. Yameru obviously had no qualms against Takeshi or Kakashi, in fact, she seemed quite friendly with them. He had walked in on Kakashi and her rambling something about virginity, of all things! After that, he had overheard Takeshi and her joking about children's card games, and Yameru would affectionately call him Boss. But every single time, the moment they saw or even sensed Tenzo, they stopped and Yameru transformed into her irritable, conceited self.

He took a gloved hand and rubbed his face in frustration. He was probably just over thinking things; Yameru simply detested his existence. Why? Tenzo could care less at the moment.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx—xx-xx-x-x—x-x

A heavy beeping in the back of my head—throbbing and cacophonic. Ruthless. Deep voices screaming, gurgling out harsh jeers. Mutated and incoherent. A heavy lead ring around my tongue pulls me down and down and down into the endless maze of broken speakers. It won't stop echoing.

_Shut your ears._

_**Shut your eyes.**_

_They're going to eat you up alive._

_**They're going to rip you to pieces.**_

_You have to_

_**Be the first to kill.**_

_x-x—x-x-x-x—x-x-x-x-x—x-x-x—x-x-x_

"Okay." Kakashi nodded at each of his squad members in recognition. "Tomorrow, we'll head to the village at daybreak."

All three of his under-subordinates were watching him intently, although not particularly politely. Tenzo sat strictly, back straight, palms against his folded knees. On the other hand, Yameru lay on her stomach, cradling her chin in her palms, feet swaying. Takeshi sat loosely cross-legged, one hand behind him supporting his slanted back and the other languidly scratching his chest. They swore they were paying attention, honestly.

One of Kakashi's gloved hands disappeared into his pocket before dragging out a group of square, glossy photos. He pointed at the first photograph, finger gingerly tapping against its surface. "This is our scout." The picture captured a young woman in her twenties, with long brown hair piled up onto her head and blue eyes. "Her name's Fukazawa Akiko. She infiltrated the village a week after the rain-nin came, meaning she's been there about two weeks now."

His three members nodded in understanding, Takeshi in particular. He grinned lecherously, eyes narrowed in a dangerous glee.

Hatake Kakashi then gestured towards the remaining two photos which displayed two men from different angles, suggesting that they were taken in secrecy. "These two are our targets. According to Akiko-san, they're both heavily ninjutsu oriented shinobi with no other nature affinity besides water." The captain pointed at Yameru and Tenzo. "Meaning, as our Earth element members, you two are our best card."

Tenzo nodded and softly whispered, "Understood," while Yameru simply scrunched up her nose and let out a hiss in his direction which made Takeshi chuckle.

Kakashi resisted the urge to chide his two older members for their bullying. "This is the plan for tomorrow. Takeshi-kun and Yameru will be in charge of infiltrating the village as local farmers using the transformation jutsu. Your mission is not_, _I repeat, not to engage the objectives." Kakashi held up the two pictures of the rain shinobi for emphasis. "Rather, I want you two to scan the layout of the village and possibly gather some information on what the rain-nin have been doing there. At noon, return here with your obtained information to regroup."

"Roger, captain!" Yameru gave him a mock salute.

"Tenzo."

"Yes, Kakashi-senpai!" Tenzo replied happily, in complete glee that he didn't have to work with either Takeshi orYameru. He wouldn't be able to take it.

Kakashi cringed underneath his mask. In nothing but moonlight, those ridiculously pitch black, darkly framed eyes did look slightly creepy. Just slightly.

Letting out an awkward cough that made Yameru and Tenzo snicker, Kakashi continued. "Tenzo, you and I will stay here and wait for Akiko-san to come to us. Before we turn in for the night, I'll send one of my nin-dogs with a message informing her of where to find us at approximately 10 AM. You will stay here with me to meet her and she'll fill us in on the affairs of the village through her own perspective. Understood?"

"Yes, Kaka—"

"No!"

Kakashi sighed; he could feel a migraine starting to tap murderously at his skull. "What's wrong, Takeshi-kun?"

Takeshi shook his head dramatically, dirty blond hair swaying in a mad frenzy. "It's not fair, I wanna meet the cutie." He stabbedthe photo of Fukazawa Akiko with his finger.

"Please, don't make me explain myself to you." Kakashi tried to make it sound like he wasn't begging, but only got the trying part down.

Mizushima, in all his twenty-year old glory, with dark brown fuzz starting to sprout around his upper lip due to not being able to shave in the past 10 hours, was still pouting at him. It was a disturbing sight.

"You and I—we all know how our team works. Tenzo and Takeshi, meaning you, are our long-range oriented shinobi while Yameru and I are generally close-range fighters. This means that you either have to pair up with Yameru or me in the long run and there is no way, I'm leaving Tenzo and Yameru to work together." The white haired gave a wry smile. "Don't think I haven't noticed what you two have been up to."

Takeshi and Yameru glanced at each other and simultaneously giggled. Tenzo frowned, he wanted to know what they were up to—the poor boy hadn't felt so out of the loop in his life.

"Alright, everyone understand the plan for tomorrow?" Kakashi gave a warning glare to Mizushima who was ready to raise his hand.

"Yes, Kakashi-senpai." Tenzo nodded fervently, eager to prove his worth tomorrow.

"Yup, Captain." Yameru was already rolling away on her stomach towards an unoccupied corner to go to sleep.

"Yeah, yeah, Kakashi-chan, I got you." Mizushima grabbed his possessions and head over to the corner where Yameru lay, already dead-asleep. He was quickly stopped by a smirking Kakashi.

In a sickeningly sweet voice, Kakashi smiled at the older man from behind his mask. "Oh, no, Takeshi-kun. Youget to have the first watch. Just think of it as some quality time to meditate over our _teamwork_."

"But—but, my beauty sleep!" Takeshi gaped at his captain, egotistical face quickly degrading itself into a mope. "Please, please, Kakashi-sama don't! Anything but first watch!"

The ANBU captain merely let his single eye curve up in sadistic delight at his teammate's melodramatic behavior. "That wouldn't do, Takeshi-kun. If you got your beauty sleep, you'd be much too pretty for any of our mortal eyes to behold." Kakashi patted Takeshi's tush. "Off you go now, Takeshi-kun."

Takeshi whimpered as he was gently pushed out the door against his will, mumbling something about captains abusing their corrupt power.

Tenzo felt a surge of victory run through his veins—although he did absolutely nothing, he couldn't help but think, "Team Tenzo-Kakashi: one, Team Yameru-Takeshi: zero, zilch, and nada."

x-x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x—x-xx—x

When night falls, the black moon comes out to play, mocking me on an unreachable pedestal in the endless sky. It cackles, hiccups its way against gray heavens, red eyes squinting in hysteria as its long crimson tongue comes rolling out its mouth to slam in front of my feet.

_Come in._

_**Come join us.**_

_We will give you happiness._

_**All you have to do**_

_Is come to us _

_**With blood on your hands**_

x—x-x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x—x-x-x-x-xx

By the time the cold morning woke him, Takeshi and Yameru were long gone.

Tenzo groaned and stretched his limbs, sighing at the reassuring pop in his joints. With a yawn, the brunette gingerly pushed his sore body up and prepared himself for the day.

After he clipped on his grey vest and arm shields, he leisurely dragged up his chin cover and adjusted his face-framing mask. "Huh." He sighed, today he was feeling uncharacteristically lazy. It was hard to believe that in a few hours, he could be in a life-or-death battle.

Tenzo let his gaze scrape the large, barren room. "What the—" the fourteen-year old jumped to his feet, legs spread apart and one hand wrapped around his katana in a defensive position.

In the corner of the room was a plump mass of black and white fur. It shifted, and Tenzo yanked his blade out of its sheath, gripping the handle tightly.

"Pretty good stance you got there." Tenzo jerked his head towards the voice, recognizing it as Kakashi's. The man clearly didn't do mornings. The tall white hair which once looked messy now appeared completely unsalvageable. His mask seemed to be slipped up hastily as it was blatantly lopsided, one side scratching at the bottom of his eyelashes as the other threatened to slip off his nose entirely.

The ANBU captain closed the door behind him, and went up to the heap of breathing black fur and patted its head. "You better put that sword away though, before you scare her. She doesn't take lightly to threats."

Still uncomfortable, Tenzo obeyed, slipping his sword back into its sheath. He cautiously tiptoed forward until he stood a yard away from his captain. "Kakashi-senpai…what is that?"

The white-haired man offered him a barely noticeable smile through his wrinkled mask. "This is Shima. She's a badger—a cowardly one, too."

"Badger." The word rolled of Tenzo's tongue experimentally before it clicked in his head. "Oh! Takeshi-senpai."

Kakashi nodded. "You catch on pretty fast. He's one of Takeshi-kun's summon animals. Look." He raised one of the badger's large claws, revealing a small folded piece of paper underneath. "They sent us a message."

More gently than Tenzo would have expected, Kakashi placed the paw back down and unfolded the piece of paper. The brunette blinked. Kakashi-senpai must have a soft spot for animals.

"It looks like they made it to the village safely and-" He suddenly grimaced. "-They stopped by a teahouse." Kakashi handed Tenzo the slip of paper and the brunette clearly saw the splash of green and what seemed to be dango sauce smudged along the edges.

Mimicking his captain's grimace, Tenzo folded the message back up and slipped it into his pocket. "Those two…" his voice trailed off as his mind tried to find the right words. "Are _unique_ aren't they?"

"I guess that's one way to put it. They're obnoxious and eccentric but I suppose that's one of their charms. You know?" Kakashi chuckled, one hand running through his messy hair.

Tenzo allowed himself a small laugh, and seated himself next to Kakashi. The black-eyed captain sat idly, one hand relaxed on his knee as his back rested his weight against the wooden wall—even in Tenzo's eyes, he looked rather _cool,_ for a lack of a better word. "Kakashi-senpai, you seem to tolerate them a lot."

"I've been with them for a while now; if you don't learn how to adjust yourself and ignore their antics then you'll be dead." He stabbed his skull with a gloved finger for emphasis. "They kill you up here, their stupidity crawls its way in and if you don't barricade your intelligence from their maniac-virus, you'll become one of them."

Tenzo shuddered at the thought. "So, Kakashi-senpai, are they always like-" The brunette's hands started waving in the air, as if he could physically grasp the right choice of words. "-_that?"_ He couldn't find the right words.

Kakashi's hands were busy rubbing their way down Shima's back who had migrated her way into his lap. "That? As in obnoxious, mean, dreadfully snobbish bullies?"

The brunette nodded.

"No, no, they usually aren't." Tenzo saw him cringe through the black mask. "They're usually worse."

Tenzo frowned in disbelief. "I doubt that."

Kakashi laughed nervously as Shima began to nip at his fingertips. "I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this…"

The brunette shuffled forward slightly, suddenly immensely curious beyond words. "What is it?"

"Well," the older man sighed, "I guess it's better if I tell you now before you go crazy and storm off to the Hokage demanding a transfer."

Tenzo wondered if Kakashi was always so good at reading minds.

"Those two, Takeshi and Yameru, are just pulling your strings." Tenzo gave him a look saying, 'Yeah, tell me something I don't know.' Kakashi heaved a slightly frustrated groan, not sure how to explain himself. "Pulling your strings, as in, it's all an act—well sort of."

"What do you mean, senpai?" Kakashi shifted uncomfortably, Tenzo was practically attempting to drill his way into his soul with those wide, pitch black eyes.

"I mean that's not how they usually are. Well, actually…Actually Takeshi-kun's usually like that most of the time. Fussy and what not. And Yameru-" The white-haired man's head suddenly dropped as if remembering some horrid memory. "She's a beast. A horrible, terrible, monstrosity of a person."

"And?" Tenzo waved his hands frantically, urging his senpai to go on.

"Her cruelty and methods of torture are quite often, much, much worse than threatening to castrate you. That girl—thing will rip out the sanity from your brain, tear it to miniscule shreds and slobber all over it before throwing it to the four winds while smiling like she's the most innocent little booger to ever walk the planet. Trust me, you have seen nothing. You're actually lucky those two are deciding to play the bully card on you and not show their true faces—it's hideous."

The brunette felt a tingle of terror slither its way down his spine. He didn't think it possible for the rumored Hatake Kakashi, childish genius extraordinaire, to display such brazen fear. His messy white hair bad begun to stick to his scalp as sweat started to copiously form against his forehead. The captain's one open eye was downcast, flickering to and fro as he reminisced on what seemed to be ghastly memories. All the while, his gloved hands were trembling against Shima's black fur in what appeared to be anxiety.

"You have _no_ clue, Tenzo. You have no idea, how it's like to be with them. You're lucky that they're testing you now, and ignoring you half the time. But once they start to like you…"

Tenzo jumped when Kakashi's hand suddenly leapt and grabbed onto his shoulder. The brunette grimaced; he could smell the captain's morning breath mixed with the stench of his sweat. "Tenzo! They're leeches. Leeches_!_ Once they've got a hold of you…" Kakashi's other hand shot up to grab Tenzo's other shoulder in a death grip. "They will never let you go. They'll leech on to you and suck, and suck, and suck until you're dead."

The rookie ANBU member sat there, in frozen shock even once Kakashi let go of him and limply walked away, still looking pained. He sat there, in frozen shock, even when Shima came to nip painfully at his ankles. He sat there, in frozen shock, even when the urge to take a morning leak became increasingly unmistakable.

Tenzo never felt so scared for his life.

x-x-x-x-x—x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A lucent ocean begins to form from the lolling tongue, a sea of heavy, sticky saliva. Once touched, there is no escape, no redemption. Once you're dirtied, sullied, you can never be clean again. The ocean grows and grows, pulling at my ankles, dragging me forward. The tongue wraps around me, a fake embrace and then I see it. I see it. I see it. I see it even with my eyes closed, even with my eyes squeezed shut.

_Beware the black boxes._

_**Open your mouth **_

_And we'll rip you apart_

_**Open your mouth**_

_And we'll kill you_

_**Open your mouth. We dare you. **_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Neeeeh, Boss?"

Takeshi didn't bother looking at her and continued to watch the dusty streets from the bench they were currently occupying. "What, Yameru?"

The kunoichi groaned, tugging at her sweaty bangs. "Can I take the scarf off yet? It's _so_ hot and my panties are starting to sweat."

Mizushima rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Yameru, I don't see how taking your scarf off would equate to your genitals being cooler."

"Oh." Yameru blinked in concentration, contemplating his words in genuine thought. "I guess that's true."

Yameru and Takeshi, as planned, had entered the village at daybreak under the guise of peasants. To their surprise, the village had been running smoothly and there were no blunt, outward signs of turmoil. Although the streets were relatively empty and slow, that was a normal facet of the small village that didn't have a large population in the first place.

After circling the outskirts and having a quick run through of the street systems, the Coyote and Badger took to information gathering. They had talked to a few residents of the village and all of them had mentioned having heard or seen the rain-nin. However, none of their descriptions seemed to fit the information Squad Four had been given. The rain-nin, in fact, were not at all harassing the villagers and were residing peacefully at one of the local inns.

Takeshi had sent Shima with a message to Kakashi about the faulty information but the captain told them to stick to the original plan and wait until noon to rendezvous. That was three hours ago and now the two ANBU members were loitering outside the rain-nin's inn, on a bench of a tea house just opposite. They were waiting for any suspicious movement, but so far, only managed to work up three layers of odorous sweat and grime.

Takeshi let out a growl of discomfort as he shifted on the bench, hand discreetly pulling at his pants that was sticking like a second skin to his ass. "Damn Kakashi. Damn this heat. Damn this mission." He gave up on being discreet and stuffed his hand into his pants to tug at the underwear that was currently riding up his cleft. "Ugh. I could be home somewhere, sake in one hand, hot chick in the other. But no, I'm stuck here, under the sun, with you."

He grunted when a fist connected with the side of his skull. "Oh, shut up Boss." Yameru huffed, tugging her soaked bangs out of her eyes. Her hair was so drenched with sweat and dust it looked like she hadn't taken a bath in days—which actually wasn't far from the truth. "_I_ could be back at the wooden house playing with little Tenzo-chan, but no I'm stuck with you." Yameru suddenly coughed, chest bouncing as her throat constricted tightly. "Blegh Ack Raagh. Pew."

Takeshi watched in disgust as a bullet of yellow shot out from her lips and smacked against one of the neighborhood walls across from them. He resisted the urge to gag as it slowly dripped its way down the wall, leaving a stream of slime in its wake.

Shamelessly, Yameru tugged the hem of her apron to wipe the spit off her lips. She swung off her slippers and started to scratch her ankles with her toes. "I'm really getting tired of acting bitchy though, Boss. It's so tiring. I don't get how you can act bitchy so easily and for so long…Oh wait." She grinned, grey eyes curving up audaciously in amusement. "I forgot, bitchy ain't an act for you, is it Boss?"

Takeshi slapped her head lightly in response, baring his teeth in a mock-threat. "Shut up, you, before I really show you the definition of bitch. Besides, you can drop the act whenever the hell you want. You decide you like him yet?"

Yameru shrugged, and shifted herself sideways on the bench. She then lay down, back against the bench's length, stinky feet curling tauntingly on Takeshi's lap. "I don't know, he's cute but seems a bit too uptight. Looks pretty competent, but we haven't seen him in action yet except yester—" Takeshi saw her grinning ridiculously wide from underneath the cloth. "My gosh! Did you see what he did yesterday, Boss?"

"Yes, Yameru. I was there, remember?"The man rolled his brown eyes, realizing her voice had suddenly jumped three octaves in her excitement.

"It was so cool! He just went Pusha! And boom! A bunch of these branches went out and Fwoosh! A house, Boss, a frickin' house popped out of the ground." She sighed and smiled goofily. "I heard from Kakashi that he had the ability to transform wood but that was better than anything I was expecting from a squirt like him."

Takeshi shrugged and scanned the streets with a critical eye. "Eh, it was okay."

"But did you hear, Boss? Supposedly, Tenzo-chan got the wood powers straight from the first Hokage, 'cuz of the freak o' nature, Orochimaru." The kunoichi suddenly froze, sitting up straight; legs still sprawled across Takeshi's lap. "Do you…do you think he knows about it yet?"

Mizushima yawned, nostrils flaring before casually waving her off. "I'd be surprised if he didn't. Being the selfish, power-hungry dick he is I wouldn't be shocked if he helped the Orochimaru mutate the poor little shit."

"Boss." She spoke sharply and evenly. "Have you gone to see him lately?"

"No."

Takeshi felt Yameru's disbelief before she spoke it. Her legs stiffened in his lap, feet placing themselves sturdily on the other side of his thigh while her face came closer, grey eyes scrutinizing him accusingly. "You're a bad liar, Takeshi."

The genjutsu specialist turned his head to face her, brown eyes glaring into her own. "_He_ came to me, Yameru. I didn't have a fucking choice. I—we never do."

"Takeshi. If you keep making contact with him you'll—"

"Shut up, Yameru!" Takeshi growled, eyes flaring warningly. "I already told you, I didn't have a choice. Now stop talking about him before his filthy fucking name slips out of my mouth and we'll both be screwed over!"

Yameru scowled at him. "Take—"

"I said stop it, Yameru!" The man jumped up to his feet, shoving her body off of his, hands flailing wildly in irritation. "I like having control of my limbs and I know full well of the consequences so I don't need a brat like you to nag me, damn it."

"No, Takeshi." Yameru's eyes narrowed, aggravation evident in her usually smiling eyes. She nodded her head, gesturing behind him, and raised a finger to point. She hissed through clenched teeth. "Isn't that our scout_?_"

Mizushima turned to look in the direction she was pointing at, eyes clearly making the image before him. A lady with long, brown hair and deep blue eyes stood there smiling at them, three men by her side all wearing a similar sinister smirk. And they were armed.

"Yeah." Takeshi felt his prior irritation surge into a spell of anger. "Yeah, that is."

Yameru quickly scanned the skies. The position of the sun revealed that it was nearing noon in about a half hour. "Wasn't she supposed to rendezvous with Kakashi at 10AM?"

"Yeah." Takeshi sneered. "Yeah, she was supposed to."

"So then if she's here…" Yameru stood from her sitting position on the bench, one arm digging its way into the fold of her coat to fist her fingers around the handle of her katana. "If she's here that can only mean-"

Takeshi grinned sadistically, hand reaching into his sleeve to pull out a hidden kunai.

"Traitor."

x-x—x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

_Finally, the time has come._

_**Finally, we can kill.**_

I opened my mouth.

x-x—x-x-x-x—x-x-xx—x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-xx

Whooot~ Second chapter up! Hopefully Kakashi came off slightly less OOC in this...I don't understand why I can't seem to write him. OTL

Thanks for reading and remember to review, critique, comment, or compliment! :Dehehe

Review Requirement p/c: 5


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